Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
by scarlett2112
Summary: Damon unexpectedly finds himself in need of a job. Elena needs a new Santa. When chance brings them together can they help each other and save Christmas too?


_**This is dedicated to all of you.**_

* * *

Damon's looking out the window at the sidewalk below. Christmas is only a few weeks away and already the city has all their holiday finery out to greet visitors and town folk alike. Good Samaritan bell ringers are out, store windows are twinkling with pretty colored lights and tinsel. Every other street corner has Santa Claus images on the light poles. Pressing his hand against the cold window, he leaves a print.

 _"Damon, don't do that, I'm going to have to clean the windows now."_

He smiles, remembering how his mom used to scold him. The next breath she'd have him and Stefan sitting in the kitchen helping her make Christmas cookies, winking at him when he stuffed a warm one in his mouth. Shaking off the twinge of nostalgia, he refills his coffee cup then sits back down at his desk. Just as he's about to put his fingers on the keyboard, he hears Rose's voice.

"Damon, Mr. Lockwood would like to see you."

"Sure, tell him I'll be there shortly." Standing up, he straightens his tie and hurries to the boss's office. Sucking in a breath, he straightens his posture, slips into his confident swagger and walks through the door.

"Hello Aisha, I was told the boss wanted to see me."

"Yes, he's waiting. I'll buzz you in," she smiles when he walks past, sighing dreamily at his nice behind.

Without looking up, Mr. Lockwood gestures for him to sit down.

"Mr. Lockwood, you summoned me."

"Yes, why don't you tell me what happened with Mrs. Donovan..." he looks at Damon over the top of his glasses.

"Mrs. Donovan, sir?"

"That's what I said."

"Um, she wanted um... you know..."

"She tells me that your work was unsatisfactory and that you weren't meeting her expectations... "

"No sir, that's not what happened," Damon proclaims, defending himself. He can taste the bile burning the back of his throat and the butterflies swirling like a maelstrom in his gut.

"What have I always told you, Damon?"

"Sir?"

"The customer is always right."

"But she wanted me to you know, sleep with her."

"I don't care. Because of your refusal, she took her business elsewhere. She was a multi-million client."

"You wanted me to sleep with her?"

"Yes, Damon, we do whatever our clients want to keep them happy. And because you failed, you're fired."

"But Mr. Lockwood, you can't fire me. It's unethical for you to ask me to sleep with clients," Damon protests, his firm words masking his inner panic. _What will he do without a job and with Christmas coming no less?_

"It's never stopped you before," he zings Damon.

"You can't do this. I'm you're best employee."

"You _were_ my best employee. Now pack your things and turn in your key. I expect you to be out of here before the end of the day."

Speechless, Damon realizes the man's mind is made up. Swallowing thickly, he holds his head high and walks out, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Damon opens his eyes to the dimly lit room. With the movement of one leg the tell-tale clink of a bourbon bottle arouses Sophie, he thinks that's her name and one look tells him that her head is just as bad. She squints and moans before retreating under the duvet.

Waves of nausea add to his misery. It's mid morning and he feels like he has an axe planted in it. His stomach lurches and gurgles and his mouth is thick with saliva. Needing to pee, he swings his bare feet onto the carpet and drags his heavy limbs to the bathroom. With his life in tatters, he sinks back onto the bed and under the covers, closing his eyes, hoping to stem the onslaught of pain and nausea.

A couple hours later he wakes again, raising his heavy eyelids half way only to snap them shut. He raises them again and this time, he feels for his phone to see what time it is. It hurts like a son of a bitch to move, like the flu only self-inflicted. At least the curtains are still closed, he's always been averse to bright light when he's hungover. The aching in his skull ebbs and flows like a cold tide. It's not lost on him why they call it a hangover. This time when he gets up, he's alone, only a phone number laying on the empty pillow. Rolling his eyes, he crumples it up and tosses it on the floor.

The first thing he does is go into the bathroom, open the medicine cabinet and throw back a couple of aspirin. After stripping out of his boxers, he steps into the shower, turns the water on high and lets it beat down over his head in steamy rivulets. Closing his eyes to the water as the heat soaks into his skin, he leans against the cold tiles as his weak legs threaten to buckle.

When he finishes, he grabs a towel, cinches it around his waste and meanders to the kitchen to brew some coffee. After slipping into some fleecy pants and a tee shirt, he pours himself a huge mug full then plops down in front of his computer to look at the job ads.

* * *

 _"Sorry Mr. Salvatore, we don't have any positions open right now."_

 _"You're way over qualified for this job, Mr. Salvatore."_

 _"We have no openings right now."_

 _"I wish I could help. Sorry."_

After a day of rejection, Damon walks into O'Doherty's Irish Pub. Sliding onto a bar stool, he signals the bartender. "Bourbon. Double. Now."

"Whatever you say," the man replies glibly, filling a tumbler full of the amber liquid. Damon nods and takes a long pull, savoring the burn as it goes down. Dropping his elbows on the bar top, he threads his fingers through his messy hair still damp from the snow. Christmas is only weeks away. The last thing he wants to do is crawl back home with his tail between his legs. His mom would never give him any grief but he's a grown man.

Taking another swallow, he happens to notice the large TV.

"This is Andie Starr of KNGB news. Today we're on location at Twin Pines Mall. There was a cardiac emergency today, fortunately everything worked out and the woman is in stable condition at the hospital. We're speaking with Chief Operating Officer, Elena Gilbert." Turning to the woman, Andie puts the microphone in her face. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"A woman collapsed. We keep defibrillators on hand in case of emergency. She's a very fortunate woman."

"Well done. I can't help but notice the sparse crowd. Are on line sales cutting into your bottom line?"

"No need to worry Miss Starr. The mall is doing well. I really need to get back to work." She pushes the microphone away and disappears among the crowd.

"This is Andie Starr signing off."

Damon claps his glass on the bar top and asks for another. After nursing it for a half hour, he pays his tab and leaves the bar. It takes several minutes in the frigid air but finally he flags down a cab and jumps in, laying his head back for the ride home.

* * *

"The bottom line, Elena, is that if revenue doesn't pick up at this mall, it'll be closing down."

"But sir, over 900 people are employed here. They have families to feed, mortgages, car payments."

"Show me the money and they won't have to worry. I'll see myself out," Tobias Fell tells her. He's the chief executive officer of the corporation that owns the mall and other properties around the city and elsewhere.

Propping her elbows on her desk top, Elena drops her chin into her hands. She barely has time to think before her assistant and best friend Caroline Forbes bursts into the room. "We have a big problem."

"What now?"

"Santa is drunk."

"What?" Elena blurts out, jumps out of her seat and follows Caroline down to the Santa display. Liam looks pretty docile but she can tell by his glassy eyes and slurred speech that he's very much inebriated. Looking up at Elena, he flashes her a shit eating grin and leans into the boy on his lap, whispering something in his ear. The boy's face screws up and he fans the air in front of him with his hand. As soon as the child jumps off his lap, Elena marches over to him, grabs onto Santa's lapel and pulls him into the room behind the Santa stage.

"You smell good," he paused to draw in her perfume, "Really good."

Rolling her eyes, she pushes him away from her. "You're drunk."

"You should be drunk, then we could have a good time," he slurs, reaching towards her breast.

Outraged, she slaps his hand away. He smiles and moves in again, snuffling the crook of her neck, "You feel nice."

Backing away, she puts her hands on her hips. Her eyes flash with indignance and anger, much like lightning on a pitch black night. It's almost as if she's calling on Thor himself to strike this fool down with a fiery bolt. "You're fired, now you get out of here before I have security remove you."

"What the hell!" he protests, his smile fading.

"You heard me, you have 30 minutes to change clothes and get out of my mall."

"Bitch," he utters under his breath before catching his foot on the chair leg and stumbling face first onto the floor.

Elena's still fuming at his unprofessional behavior but can't help but smile. Looking over her shoulder, she posits, "Karma" and walks out of the room.

* * *

With her frustration level at defcon one, Elena thinks she might explode. She wants to shout, throw a tantrum and beat her hands on her desktop like a toddler. Since firing Liam, she's spent two days interviewing candidate after candidate and all of them have simply been a joke. Not one was serious about the job, in fact, they were more interested in coming on to the elves, Davina and Katherine than they were to becoming Santa Claus.

Hearing a rap on her office door, Elena looks up and nods when Caroline appears with a bottle of Jack and a couple of shot glasses. No longer on the clock, Elena points her friend to the chair in front of her desk.

"I figured you could use it. I never dreamed it would be so hard to find someone willing to be Santa. They were all cretins," Caroline laughs and fills their glasses. After sliding one to Elena, they clink them together and throw them back, Elena sighing happily at the taste when it goes down.

"What are we going to do Caroline? We have to have a Santa. Fell told me if we don't have a lucrative holiday season, he's going to close the mall. I can't let that happen, everyone losing their jobs."

"We'll come up with something," she replies, topping off their glasses again.

"I wish I shared your confidence," Elena responds, leaning back into her chair and closing her eyes.

"Have you thought about asking Jeremy?"

"Jeremy? My brother Jeremy?"

"Who else?"

"He'd rather eat haggis."

"Ewww, Elena, yuck," Caroline replies, screwing up her face in disgust.

"But you're right, desperate times and all..." her voice trails away when she clicks his icon.

" _Elena, hey."_

"Jer, I need a huge favor."

 _"What would that be?"_ he asks, his voice already full of suspicion.

"I need you to play Santa Claus. I had to fire..." His laughter interrupts before she can finish her sentence. "Come on Jer, I'm desperate."

 _"No way. Find some other poor slob."_

"Jer!?"

 _"That won't work on me. You're on your own. Gotta go, bye now."_ He quickly hangs up before she can argue her point any farther.

Tossing her phone to the side, Elena visibly deflates. "That was a bust. I don't know about you but it's been a long day. I'm tired."

"Me too." Caroline smiles and screws the lid back on the bottle. "I need to put this away. I keep it on hand for days like this."

"Good thinking," Elena can't help but chuckle. She powers down her computer then puts her jacket on and after locking her office, she and Caroline go down the escalator together to the ground floor. On their way out, Elena hears a bit of a commotion. Nudging Caroline, they turn to see a man helping a little child pick up her sack while a very pregnant woman looks on. She watches with rapt attention when the child looks up through her tears.

"What's your name?" the man asks.

"Allison," she blubbers, rubbing her eyes with her little fists.

"Nice to meet you Allison, I'm Damon," he shakes her tiny hand. "Why are you crying?"

"I wanted to tell Santa what I want for Christmas and he wasn't here. Now I won't get presents."

"Maybe he wasn't feeling good today? Or maybe Mrs. Claus needed him for something important? But you know what?" Damon looks up at Allison's mother. When she nods, he continues. "I don't think Santa would punish a little girl like you. If you do what your mommy says and be good, I think he'll find your house."

"Do you think so?"

"I'm sure of it," Damon smiles at both the girl and her mother. After she has the package securely in her arms, her mother shakes Damon's hand, takes her daughter's and disappears through the main entrance.

"Did you see that Caroline?"

"I did."

Elena looks up just as he's about to walk out of the building himself. Breaking out into a run, she flails her arms to get his attention. He turns around and looks at her like she has three heads but that's of little consequence to her. She needs a Santa.

Looking at her curiously, Damon finally remembers why she looks familiar. "I saw you on TV."

"Yes, I'm Elena Gilbert, I run this place. This is my assistant Caroline Forbes," she introduces her when her friend catches up to them.

"Damon Salvatore." He extends his hand to shake hers.

"Can we talk to you?"

"I really need to go."

"You were amazing with that little girl. Um... have you ever played Santa Claus?"

"Huh?"

"I need someone to play Santa Claus."

"Lady, I'm an advertising executive, well at least I was. I don't have time, I need to find a job."

"Please, it's only till Christmas, I'm desperate and I will pay you, I mean... not an executive's pay but think of all the children you'll make smile like that little girl."

Raking his hand through his hair, Damon blows out a breath of air. He likes kids, how bad could it be? At least it's a paycheck. It'll pay a few bills and help him get by till he finds something long term. "I know I'm going to regret this but sure, it's only a few weeks right?"

"Right." Elena nods her hand, her fingers crossed at her sides.

"When do you want me to be here tomorrow?"

"Thank you Mr. Salvatore. My office is on the second floor, suite 240. Be there at 9 am. We'll get you fitted for the suit. It'll be great, you'll see."

"Sure lady," he starts, pointing with his thumb towards the exit. "I need to get home. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow," Elena repeats, not taking her eyes off of his departing form till he disappears into the night air.

* * *

Damon helps the little boy down and waits for the next one to crawl onto his lap. The tiny girl moves like her knees are just hinges, wobbling to and fro before falling on her padded bottom. She claps as if it was part of her plan, he can't help but laugh when she rolls onto her belly to get up again. Her mother lifts her up, her arms reach for him and he stands up to take her. Sitting back down, he smiles for the picture.

He barely maintains his composure when she presses her tiny palms to either side of his face and squeezes. "San.. ta," she squeaks in her high pitched squeal. He listens intently to her baby talk, not understanding much but he nods along. Just before she slides off his legs, she presses a wet sloppy kiss to his cheek.

"Oh thank you," he tells her then reaches into his bag to give her a candy cane. Her mother smiles appreciatively and walks away, letting the next child take their turn. He gives each child as much attention as time allows.

From her perch on the second floor, Elena and Caroline stare at him. Plenty of children are lined up to talk to Santa but still the overall crowd is rather sparse. She knows she has to come up with something catchy and original to draw people to her mall.

"He's a natural, the kids love him," Caroline offers, nudging Elena's arm.

"He really is but we need more than Damon. How am I going to tell all of our proprietors that the place is shutting down? Not to mention their employees. We have to do something. I just don't know what."

"Don't lose hope. I have faith in you." She wraps an arm around Elena to give her a hug.

"I'm glad someone does." Looking down at Damon again, she can't help but smile. She's so lucky she caught him with that child a few days ago. "You know what, I'm going to buy him a coffee. I'll be back in the office in about a half hour."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

Elena nods and greets people on her way to the café court. Many she recognizes as regular customers, some are new, maybe because it's Christmas time? While waiting for the barista to fill her order, she fixes her gaze on the passers by, packages in their arms, others stuffing popcorn into their mouths, some are walking out of the theater, smiles and excitement on their faces. When she finally has her beverages in hand, she goes to find Damon. He's just stepping into the back room for a break. Shaking her head, she walks in after him.

"I thought you could use a nice hot cup of coffee."

"Hey, you startled me. But yeah, thank you," he says taking one from her hand. "Mmm, that's good."

"You're really good with the children. Do you have any of your own?"

"No, no, I have a nephew, Jameson, I'm perfectly happy playing uncle. That way I can send him home to his parents when he gets tired and crabby," Damon laughs, taking another swallow.

"I don't have any of those either. Someday..."

Glancing at his watch, Damon smiles tightly. "I need to get back there soon, break's almost over."

"Don't worry, the boss won't fire you. As a matter of fact, I don't suppose you'd pen us in for next year if...?" her voice trails away...

Inherently suspecting something is bothering her, he moves so their eyes meet. "If?"

"If our holiday sales don't go up, the corporation that owns the mall is going to close it. I need to come up with some kind of a gimmick to get people to come here."

"Well I guess I need to think too, if you're not here, how am I going to fill this big red suit next year." Damon winks and walks to the door. Pausing he looks over his shoulder. "Thanks for the coffee," before slipping through it to resume his place in the big chair.

* * *

It's late in the day, the sky is dark and the stars shining. Looking at the clock, Caroline powers down her computer and cleans off her desk. Noticing the bright light under Elena's door, she sticks her head in, "I'm going to go home. You about ready?"

"Pretty soon, I'm just thinking."

"Elena?"

"Don't worry, you go home and have a nice evening with Tyler. I'll be leaving soon."

"You promise?"

"Yes! Now shoo," Elena scolds, pointing at the door.

Caroline huffs and backs out, pulling the door closed behind her. Just as she's about to leave the office, Damon comes tearing down the hall, grabbing onto the handle to stop his forward motion.

"Where's the fire?" she looks at him like he grew another head and a tail.

"I need to see Elena, is she still here?"

"Yeah, in her office."

She latches on when he makes a break for it. "Damon?"

"I have an idea, to save the mall."

"I've gotta hear this," she says, dragging him into Elena's office.

She's putting her things away when Caroline and Damon barge in. "What's going on?"

"Damon has an idea, tell her," she looks at him nodding.

"You have my attention. Spill," she asks, all kind of emotions swirling, excitement, skepticism and mostly hope.

Pulling up a seat, Damon sits down and scoots up to her desk, Caroline doing the same. "A dance, a Santa Claus dance. The couples have to dress as Santa and Mrs. Claus, or Mrs. Claus and Mrs. Claus, it doesn't matter, the point is, it'll be a competition. I thought the winner could get a trip for two to Hawaii or something like that."

"A Santa dance? That's your big idea?" she asks, skepticism her overwhelming emotion.

"Come on, Elena, Damon's right, it's a great idea and what do you have to lose?"

"My sister in law owns a print shop, I could have her make up some posters... What do you say?"

Elena eyes them both for the longest moment. To Damon it seems like an eternity. "Okay, let's do this."

"You won't regret it, I promise," Damon jumps up enthusiastically, hugging first Caroline and then Elena. Noticing the clock by happenstance, his mouth drops open. "I have to get going, I'll give Rebekah a call. And I'll see you tomorrow." He smiles widely then runs out of her office.

Looking at Caroline, Elena grabs her and together they hurry out of the office, just in time to see Damon jump and squeal happily, just like George Bailey after he got his life back.

* * *

Damon is still in his Santa outfit but he couldn't be more excited. The Mall floor in front of him is roped off, with Christmas garland and fake holly. Trees with twinkling lights are all around to create the festive mood. Everywhere he looks there are Santa's and Mrs. Claus's. What makes him the most happy is the size of the crowd. After he left Elena's office that night, he went directly to his brother's place to talk to Rebekah. Together and with her expertise, they created the perfect poster, Santa and Mrs. Claus in a swing pose. He's really quite proud of it. When Elena steps up to the microphone, he immediately gives her his full attention.

"Hello and Welcome everyone. I'm Elena Gilbert, I'm the chief operating officer of Twin Pines Mall. Tonight and the next two Saturdays you'll be competing in the Santa dance contest. The winner of the grand prize will receive and all expenses trip for two to Hawaii. Sounds nice this time of year, right?" She stops when the applause starts.

"After tonight, as a bonus, you'll each be given a card, coffee, a candy bar, a Julius drink etc... Your job will be to find its match in one of our stores. You can take them to the vendor and get the item for free. It's also our desire if you would consider this place for your holiday shopping needs. But that's not what you're here for. Let me introduce our judges."

She moves to stand behind Caroline at their table. "This is Caroline, she's my executive assistant." Caroline smiles and nods.

Elena moves over to the next two guys. These two men are the proprietors of Patagonia Fashions. Let me introduce you to Kol and Wes." Elena leads the applause. And then moves to her last one.

"This is Bonnie, she's the owner of Bennet Dance, located right at the end of that corridor. Let's give her a hand," she claps along with the crowd.

"Grab your partners and step onto the dance floor. Tonight's dance is the Lindy Hop. I will let Bonnie explain it to you since she studied dance in college."

"Thank you Elena," she says, taking the microphone. "The Lindy Hop evolved from the Charleston, head's up, that's next week's dance. The Lindy is often described as the original swing dance. It relies mostly on improvisation by its dancers, making it both fun and playful on the dance floor. There are two main styles of Lindy Hop, Savoy style, and G.I. style. Savoy style is characterized by long, horizontal lines, while G.I. style is danced in a more upright position. Take your positions and let the music start," she claps, handing the mic back to Elena.

Just as Elena steps back, she notices Damon among the onlookers and excuses herself to say hello. "Run Rudolph Run" by Chuck Berry starts to play on the PA system and the entire dance floor is filled with people in Santa suits. Laughter and applause almost drowns out the music. She slides in next to Damon, who is so enthralled, he doesn't even notice her so she lays her hand on his wrist, and his head jerks towards her.

"Elena, hi."

She gives his arm a squeeze. "I still don't know if this will bring in the kind of numbers I need but it was a good idea Damon. Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome. Have a little faith would you?" He quirks a brow at her.

"Believe me when I tell you I want to, I want to believe Damon. This place is part of who I am. I've worked here since I was 16, in Kol and Wes's store. I don't want to see it go under on my watch."

Damon frees her hand from his wrist and laces their fingers together. "Look," he whispers, his mouth next to her ear. "The people, they're happy. Look at the smiles and hear the laughter. Watch them for a moment."

The dancers move like water transforming with the music, flowing in graceful arcs, limbs in constant motion, painting a picture sound alone cannot achieve. They bring a wordless interpretation of the beats, of the rhythm and tempo. Their faces are pink, blushing from the frenetic activity and from the smiles that are glued to their faces as they move and jerk around the dance floor.

"And most importantly," he adds, "never lose hope."

When she looks up at him, her heart is pounding at the proximity of his mouth to hers. She cannot describe the cavalcade of emotions that is inexplicably crashing into her. Without letting herself think, she leans in till her forehead touches his. "Thank you," she says in barely more than a whisper.

"For what?" He replies, his voice low and husky.

"For this, for helping us, for helping me," her voice wavers, exhilarated from the tension burning like wildfire between them. She gently kisses Damon's warms lips. They pull apart, take shaky, shallow breaths and stare deep into each other's eyes, Damon's are full of wonder, Elena's curiosity.

"Wow!" That was..."

"Amazing," Elena finishes, the corners of her mouth lifting to match his. Before another word leaves her lips, he gives her a quick peck on her forehead and disappears into the crowd to slip back into his Santa persona.

* * *

"Of course Mr. Fell, I'll show you in," Caroline forces a smile and opens Elena's office door for him.

Raising her eyes, Elena quickly stands up and walks around her desk to greet him. "Mr. Fell, this is a surprise?"

"We talked about this Elena, I came to see the books, what kind of numbers are you bringing in. You're going to have to make an announcement to your proprietors about this mall closing down."

"Mr. Fell," Caroline interrupts, her eyes meeting Elena, continuing when she nods her okay. "Why don't you come downstairs with us? Tonight's the finale of the Santa dance."

"Santa dance?"

"Yes, then Elena can show you the stellar numbers we've been bringing in."

"Stellar numbers?" he looks at her skeptically but agrees to go with them nonetheless, following the two women out of the office, into the elevator and down to the main level. The dancers are in costume and the onlookers are packing the area. Stores are busy, people are happy. Damon's idea has worked out so much better than Elena could ever have imagined. Looking to her right, down the hallway, she sees him sitting with a little boy on his lap, no doubt telling him everything he wants from Santa.

Turning away, she focuses on the competition as the contestants dance the swing to Glenn Miller's In the Mood. It's delightful watching them move back and forth swinging their legs and arms out. Maybe she'll have to take dance lessons sometimes. Caroline gives her a little nudge, gesturing at Mr. Fell with a tilt of her head.

The man is staring at the dancers as if she'd pulled a rhinoceros from her pocket. She can just imagine the sparks in his brain, desperately trying to connect the dots and instead just causing a short circuit. He looks like a pop-eyed toy from one of those claw machines at the county fair.

"What do you think?" Elena asks him, smiling when he turns to face her.

"I don't know what to say. I haven't seen crowds this size here in a few years. It's a miracle. Who's idea was this? It's genius and if your numbers are as good as you seem to hint, this place will stay open."

Elena's about to answer him when she feels someone brush her arm. Looking up, she glows when she sees who it is. "Mr. Fell, this is Damon Salvatore, our Santa Claus. And actually the dance was his idea."

"Excuse me," a voice interrupts when the music stops between numbers. Damon's eyes nearly pop out of his head when he sees Richard Lockwood and Enzo St. John, a client of his before he was fired.

"Mr. Lockwood, what are you doing here?"

"This dance competition is all over the news, youtube clips, Instagram and Twitter posts. I had to have a look for myself. And I was hoping we could talk about your job?"

Damon's eyes drift to Elena's. They're the color of earth kissed by spring rains, the hue that promises to stir life from dormant seeds, the nascent plants guided upward by the light before blossoming into the vibrant colors of a new season. One look and he knows the answer. He's not going back there only to be made a fool of a second time.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lockwood. I've already secured a new position. Too bad you came all this way...," Damon stealthily links his fingers with hers. There is something about the way she smiles, the way butterflies seem to escape from the pit of his stomach and the way the sun somehow topples down from the sky, finding a home in his heart. Hers is the kind that makes him feel happy to be alive. The spell is broken when he hears his name.

"Damon, have you ever considered starting your own business?" Mr. St. John, coming to stand in front of him asks.

"No," he answers matter of factly.

"Well consider it. The success of this is phenomenal." he pauses to peruse the crowd. "Just look at these people, they're having the time of their lives, not only the contestants in their Santa suits but also the crowd. If you consider it, I will bring my account to you. I know others who would too," he declares, his gaze drifting to Mr. Lockwood who looks none too happy.

Without saying another word, he straightens his shoulders and stalks off, they soon lose sight of him. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out," Damon jokes, a beaming smile on his face.

Suddenly the intercom crackles to life. "And now to present the trophy to the winners, let's give a big hand to Santa Claus." Damon's mouth drops and Elena starts to clap wildly. She and Caroline follow him up to the stage. Taking the microphone, Damon sees the judges huddled together and he takes a breath when they hand him a piece of paper.

"You've all done a spectacular job. I'm honestly overwhelmed at the joy I see on all your faces. Thank you for making my idea more than I ever dreamed it could be. Thank you to Miss Gilbert for taking a chance on me. And Caroline too for being in my corner." He gives her a wink.

"And now for the moment you've all been waiting for. The winners of the trip to Hawaii are Freya Mikaelson and her partner Keelin Malraux. Congratulations ladies," Damon claps as they hug and then make their way to the podium. Damon hands Freya the microphone.

"Thank you so much. We had a blast. It would be our greatest wish for you to make this annual holiday tradition at Twin Pines Mall." Stepping aside she passes the mic to Keelin.

"It goes without saying that the quality of the competition was masterful. You guys are all amazing and I hope we can get together again next year. We've made so many wonderful friends. You're the best." She puts the mic under her arm and leads the applause. Damon gives them the tickets and each woman a kiss on the cheek.

Elena, Caroline, the judges and Mr. Fell all take turns congratulating them. When they finish, _'Silver Bells'_ starts to play. Damon bows to Elena. "May I have this dance?"

She bobs her head excitedly and steps into his warm embrace. With their eyes only on each other, their bodies flush, together they dance slowly, the rest of the crowd simply fades away the moment his lips touch hers.

* * *

 _Eva and I have one more Christmas one-shot we're working on. I hope we can finish it to post sometime between Christmas and New Year's._

 _Twin Pines Mall was the name of the place before Marty McFly went back to the future. Remember, he plowed down one of the pines with the DeLorean and when he returned to 1985, it was Lone Pine Mall._

 _I hope you enjoyed this one. We would love to hear your thoughts._

 _I have to work Christmas eve and day so I'm going to take this opportunity to wish you all that celebrate a very Merry Christmas._

 _Thank you for all the love and support you gave our stories this past year. It's beyond anything we ever could have ever hoped for. You're the best, you mean the world to us._

 _Have a wonderful day..._


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